


Apology

by missbecky



Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Gen, Pre-Slash If You Squint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-19
Updated: 2012-08-19
Packaged: 2017-11-12 11:32:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/490423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missbecky/pseuds/missbecky
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the battle is won, Steve has an apology to make.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Apology

**Author's Note:**

> This was the first story I wrote after seeing the movie. All I wanted then (besides to go see it again) was to see something like this.

Steve had never been the kind of guy to wait. If something needed to be done, he did it right away. Going off to war had only enforced that mentality – living from day to day, you never knew which one could be your last.

So he was not proud that it took him three days to make the trip to Stark Tower. In his head he rationalized the delay by reminding himself that he had been helping with the clean-up in Manhattan, but it was not much of an excuse, and he knew it.

There were things he must say now. He was under no illusions about how difficult this conversation was going to be, but that did not matter. The very fact that it wouldn't be easy was what made it so necessary.

On the morning of the fourth day after they defeated Loki, he rode the motorcycle to Stark Tower. A cultured British voice spoke to him through an intercom, asking that he identify himself. He did so, and after a pause, the voice asked him to come back tomorrow.

"I can't do that," he said. "I need to see Mr. Stark. Right away."

"Is the matter urgent?" the voice asked.

Steve hesitated. "Yes," he finally said.

"Please wait," said the voice. After a long wait, there was a click as the doors unlocked. The voice told him he was free to enter, and that Tony Stark was in the penthouse.

He took the elevator up – the electricity was still off in many places throughout the city, but not here, where the power came from an altogether different source. It stopped on the top floor, and Steve got out and stepped into a large lobby.

Across from the elevator, two wide double doors were thrown open. Inside, the scene was one of carefully controlled chaos. A tall woman with red hair held a small personal computer and gave orders to the workmen who were striving to rebuild the tower. The sound of saws and hammers and the occasional loud blat of a nailgun filled the air. Sheets of plastic hung where the windows had been, cracking sharply in the wind that never stopped at this altitude.

The woman saw him, and she gave him a harried smile. She pointed toward the bar, which puzzled Steve at first. It wasn't until he walked around a group of workers carrying a steel beam that he was able to see behind the bar.

Stark was there, sitting on the floor, a computer on his lap. Shimmering in the air above the screen was an animated image of the tower itself. Without even looking up to acknowledge him, Stark said, "I figure one floor each. Larger than life heroes need more than just a simple room, am I right?" He pointed at the image; it wavered ever so slightly.

"I'm sorry?" Talking with Stark was like walking halfway into a conversation that had started ten minutes ago. He always felt like he was playing catch-up.

"Well, I just thought since I have to rebuild anyway, I might as well make the place more functional," Stark said. He finally looked up at Steve. "And we're going to need a place to stay. The helicarrier's great, don't get me wrong, but I prefer something a little less…mobile."

Steve nodded. He understood that just fine.

"You can decorate your floor how you want," Stark said. "Just promise me there won't be too many—"

"I wanted to say I'm sorry," Steve said, just like that. It wasn't exactly how he had intended this conversation to go, but the longer he stood there, the harder it was going to get to say the words.

Stark blinked. "Uh, okay?"

"For what I said," Steve clarified. "About you. I was wrong."

_You're not the guy to make the sacrifice play_ , he had said, and never in his life was he so glad to have been proven wrong. None of them would be here today if Stark hadn't thrown himself on that wire.

Stark stood up and set his computer on the bar, and then just looked at him. Steve felt himself wanting to fidget restlessly. He dropped his eyes and he started to say something else, but apparently that small show of weakness was all Stark was waiting for, because now he finally spoke.

"Actually, you're not wrong, because I'm _not_ that guy. I didn't do it to be a hero, or to prove anything. I'm just the guy who did what had to be done, because I was the only one who _could_. And I'm not saying that to brag, even though I think I would be totally justified in a little bragging. I'm only saying it so you know where I'm coming from."

Steve looked up again, and he couldn't help smiling a little. For someone who was supposed to be so smart, Tony Stark could be amazingly stupid sometimes. "Tony," he said gently, "that's exactly what makes you a true hero."

Tony – after this, it had to be just Tony now – made a mild, "Hmph" noise. "Well, you said it, not me. But since it's on the record now, I guess I can't deny it." There was a gleam in his eye that said he was making fun, but Steve was pretty sure there was no malice in that humor. "Pepper!"

From across the room, the pretty redhead said, "Yes?"

"Make a note, would you? Captain America called me a hero. I want that entered into your datebook, along with a reminder popup every year so we can celebrate the anniversary of this momentous occasion."

"Yes, Tony." She sounded amused.

Tony looked him square in the eye, unflinching, all traces of humor gone. "Apology accepted. And just so you know, I didn't mean anything by my comment about your super soldier-ness. I mean, you do know that was just Loki's staff influencing us all, right?"

Steve had told himself the very same thing, but that did not take away the sting of the awful things he had said, or what Tony had said to him. Nonetheless, he was happy to accept it for now – along with Tony's apology. He didn't like thinking about the hateful words they had said to each other. If this was what would let them put that day behind them and move on, he was more than happy to accept it. "I know," he said.

And just like that, it was done, and he could breathe easier. The conversation he had been dreading for three days was finished, and no one had gotten angry or hurt. There hadn't even been any shouting.

Apparently there were a lot of things he was wrong about, when it came to Tony Stark.

"Great," Tony said. "Now, if you don't mind, I've got some work to do." He looked up and watched two workmen carrying a large pane of glass walk past. "Pepper…" he whined.

She saw the two men, and she sighed. "I got it." Quickly she headed toward them, intercepting their progress and speaking quietly to them.

"Well," he said. "I should be going."

"Yeah, sure," Tony said, already distracted by the image of the tower rising from the computer screen.

He started to walk away. He was nearly at the double doors when Tony called, "Come back in a couple days. You should be able to start designing your floor then. Think about what you want."

That would be nice. The apartment SHIELD had rented for him was pleasant enough, but it wasn't really his. It wasn't a home, just a place to sleep at night.

"You know," he said, "you might want to do something about the name of this place." He gestured to where the windows should have been. "That A looks out of place all by itself out there."

"Oh no," Tony said. "It's right where it needs to be."

Steve raised an eyebrow. "So it's not Stark Tower anymore? It's just…A Tower?"

A look of smug pride stole across Tony's face. "It's Avengers Tower now."

"My idea," Pepper chimed in from across the room.

Tony pointed. "Her idea. But in my defense, I was already thinking about it. She just said it out loud first."

Steve laughed a little. For the first time since Thor and Loki had returned to Asgard, he really thought this whole thing was going to work. Sure, there were going to be missteps along the way, and he was probably going to have to make half a dozen more apologies to various people, but that was okay. Saying you're sorry was the easy part – it meant the person you needed to apologize to was still alive. "I think it sounds great," he said. And he meant it.

He took a step backward. "I'll come back on Friday," he said.

"Sure thing," Tony said without looking up, his attention once more on the computer screen.

They were done here. Steve walked into the lobby. He pushed the button for the elevator. He started to smile.

Yeah, things were definitely going to be all right.

*******

END


End file.
